SANTA CRUZ >> With new housing in scant supply, county leaders are continuing to pave the way for homeowners to add a secondary rental to their property.

In the latest step, Santa Cruz County released an Accessory Dwelling Unit toolkit Tuesday with a cost estimator, design guide and other information. The site also includes a mapping tool that homeowners can use to figure out if their property is eligible for a secondary rental.

“I don’t think we can underscore enough how this is a significant step forward,” said 2nd District Supervisor Zach Friend during Tuesday’s meeting of the county Board of Supervisors, which Friend chairs. “I would expect that this really will incent a lot of new ADU construction in the county which is sorely needed and can help bring a number of new affordable housing units into the county in the next 12 to 24 months.”

The toolkit is focused on arming homeowners with the information they need to find out if, and how, they could add a rental unit to their home — without needing to show up in person at the Planning Department.

To address up-front costs, the county recently launched two pilot programs to offer loans to property owners who are willing to house low-income tenants at affordable rates. Under the ADU Forgiveable Loan Program, homeowners could borrow up to $40,000 with the loan forgiven and restrictions lifted after 20 years. The second program, a partnership with Habit for Humanity, offers low-income seniors loans up to $80,000.

“What we’ve done is make almost every parcel in unincorporated Santa Cruz County eligible for an ADU,” said county spokesman Jason Hoppin.

The state is also pushing to pave the way for more “granny flats” to help solve the housing crisis, passing laws in 2017 to ease local regulations and create a pathway for illegal accessory dwellings to come into the light.

Production of new housing statewide is less than half of what is needed, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

ADU TOOLKIT

What: New online toolkit released by Santa Cruz County to provide information to homeowners about retrofitting their property with an accessory dwelling unit. Includes cost estimator, regulatory overview, design guide and eligibility tool.

Nicholas Ibarra covers government, education, cannabis and agriculture for the Sentinel. Raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Nicholas has earned multiple statewide awards for his writing, which has appeared throughout numerous Bay Area newspapers including the Mercury News and East Bay Times. He has also contributed reporting to publications including KQED Radio, Scientific American and Sierra Magazine. Nicholas earned a B.S. in journalism from San Jose State University.